Tag Archives: thankfulness

Hi. You guys know me as author J Monkeys, but as I sat down to write Saturday’s blog post, I knew that I had to do something a little different from my usual tongue-in-cheek rant because in addition to being a children’s author, I’m also a mom of very young school children. My name is Jennifer Moncuse, and I live in Connecticut.

I live just about as far from Newtown CT as our tiny state will allow, but my twins will be starting kindergarten next year. I have a second grader at home as well and today’s horrifying news of the heartless slaughter of innocents and innocence, practically in my own backyard, has shaken me. I cried through some of the news coverage late this afternoon, watching on the sly because I don’t want my preschoolers to hear about children being killed at school. How could I possibly talk with them about this in a way that they will understand when I don’t understand it myself? I don’t think it is something that is understandable.

I had been planning to write next week’s post, due out 12-22-12, about why it was all right with me if the world ended on Friday, but I’m switching up the order and the slant because for a lot of people the world ended today.

In addition to sending my most heartfelt prayers to the families of those who lost so much today, I wanted to take a moment to be thankful for the wonderful things in my own life.

I’m thankful for my wonderful, healthy children, their laughter, their genuine-ness, the opportunity to teach them about the world.

I’m thankful for my incredible partner in this life, for his kindness, his sensitivity to others, his willingness to be responsible for 50% of everything, and for loving me just as I am.

I’m thankful for my family – drama and all, I wouldn’t swap any of you with anyone else, no matter the reason.

As I thought about all the other things I’m grateful for, especially the things, I decided that they didn’t really matter. The house, the car, the job. Maybe it’s easy for me to say that having a roof over my head doesn’t really matter, because I have the luxury of saying it under said roof. There’s probably a lot of truth to that. But on a night like this one, it doesn’t make the list, except as a safe haven for my kids.

Here’s my secret for today: However you understand God (as a him, a her, a them, or an it) take a moment to say “Thank you” for all the important things in your life, whatever or whomever they might be. Hug your loved ones tightly and remember to tell them often how much you love them. That way you’ll be ready when the world ends, no matter if it’s next Friday or more likely, some other day when you least expect it.